Next
by TMBlue
Summary: An AU story beginning the summer after 6th year when Hermione comes to the Burrow. What if relationships had changed a lot sooner than they did in DH? This story is what COULD have happened...
1. Another Summer

**Chapter 1 - Another Summer**

Ron stood in front of the fireplace, his hands shoved deep into his trouser pockets. He felt someone's eyes on him but didn't turn around to see who it was.

"Your eyes will fall out soon if you don't quit staring a hole through the fireplace," came Ginny's voice from behind Ron.

Ron ignored her, but shifted his weight awkwardly from foot to foot, his eyes still focused on the empty fireplace.

"What time is she supposed to be coming?" Ginny asked as she sat down on the couch behind Ron.

"Not sure," Ron mumbled. He tried to take a peek at his watch without Ginny noticing, but she suppressed a slight giggle and Ron rolled his eyes. "Would you go away?" he groaned.

"Okay, okay," Ginny said as she stood from the couch, holding her hands up in surrender, though Ron couldn't see her as his back was still towards her. Ginny paused before leaving the room though, and Ron tried hard not to think about her eyes on his back. "She's fine," Ginny said firmly after a moment. "Don't worry." Ginny paused again, her eyes still on Ron's back, and he nodded once, trying not to think about what he'd do if Hermione _wasn't_ alright... He heard Ginny's soft footsteps moving away through the kitchen and finally up the stairs behind him. He let out a long shaky sigh and held up his watch to his eyes again.

It was true that he wasn't sure when Hermione would be coming. The only plans they had been able to make were that she'd be going home for a very short visit with her parents and to pack... to get ready for the coming year. Then she'd be traveling by floo to Ron's house. But recently, Ron had begun to seriously doubt Hermione's ability to arrive by floo. Mr. Weasley had agreed to link Hermione's house to the floo network for a short time, but things had become increasingly chaotic for him at work, and he had started to take extra precautions, no longer traveling to and from work by floo anymore either. He had taken to Apparating everywhere, and now that Hermione had passed her Apparition test at the end of their last school term, Ron wondered if it wouldn't be safer for her to Apparate directly onto the Burrow's grounds. But he had no way of contacting her to tell her his concerns. He wasn't allowed to owl anyone, and no messages had come in from anyone.

It had been a week exactly, one week since he had hugged Hermione goodbye on the platform and looked back over his shoulder to watch her departing with her parents. And that's what they had said... one week. Hermione had told him that it should take her at least a week before she'd be able to join his family at the Burrow. So, after dinner, Ron had stationed himself in front of the fireplace and wouldn't budge for anything or anyone. Hours passed, and still he stayed in front of the fireplace, unwilling to move. After the fourth hour, he sat down on the couch, his elbows on his knees, his eyes fixed on the ash at the bottom of the fireplace.

Finally, after everyone else had gone to bed, Mrs. Weasley sat quietly on the couch next to Ron.

"Why don't you head on up to bed, dear," she said gently.

"'M okay," Ron said sleepily.

"Ron, your father will be home soon and our room is close to the kitchen. We'll know if Hermione arrives."

Ron considered his mother's words for a moment. He honestly felt that it was unlikely that Hermione would be arriving at his house past midnight, and it was now nearly quarter past, but what if she showed up and he was already in bed? He needed to see her the moment she arrived... needed to know that she was alright...

"Mum," Ron began slowly. "What if she Apparates? It's possible, now that she has her license. Someone has to be awake to let her inside the house."

"We'll hear her," Mrs. Weasley said reassuringly. "She'll knock on the door and we'll hear her."

After a long pause, Ron nodded slowly.

"Alright, I'll go to bed, but you have to promise that you'll wake me up if she gets here in the middle of the night. And tell dad the same thing when he gets home."

Mrs. Weasley smiled softly at her son and nodded.

"We'll make sure you know," she said.

"Thanks," Ron mumbled as he stood from the couch. "'Night."

Ron had no idea what time it was when his eyes cracked open in his dark bedroom later that night. He wondered for a moment what had woken him, but as he blinked to clear his vision, a silhouette came into focus standing quietly at the side of his bed.

"Hermione?!" Ron gasped as he sat up in bed with a jolt.

"Hi," she said in a tiny voice.

"It _is _you!" Ron scooted on his knees to the edge of his bed and flung his arms around Hermione's waist, pulling her down to him slightly so his face was buried in her neck. She wrapped her own arms instantly around his shoulders and held him closely to her. Several seconds passed as Ron breathed in deeply, his eyes closed. But suddenly, he was fully awake and aware of everything he had just done. He felt his face heat up immediately as his eyes popped open. He pulled back from Hermione and looked anywhere but directly at her.

"I just got here," Hermione said, and Ron had the impression that she could see him blushing, even in the dark room, and that she was trying to change the subject. He silently thanked her if that really was what she was up to. "Your dad let me in the front door."

"So you Apparated?" Ron asked and he looked at Hermione now, his interest in her story enough to distract him from what had just happened.

"Yes. I wasn't sure if the floo would be safe. I know we talked about it before..."

"No, you were right to Apparate. I was a little... uh... worried about you using the floo to be honest," Ron said, scratching the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.

Hermione moved to sit on the edge of Ron's bed.

"And sorry about coming in so late," Hermione continued. "I felt terrible waking your parents, though your dad didn't seem like he'd been sleeping. He told me to come up and let you know I was here. I would have done anyway..."

Ron smiled slightly at her comment.

"It's okay about being late," he said. "And I doubt it's been long since dad got home from work actually."

Hermione nodded.

"I planned to arrive in the middle of the night so I could avoid being seen by anyone."

"Good idea," Ron said, nodding.

Hermione went very quiet all of a sudden and looked down at her hands in her lap.

"You okay?" Ron asked in a quiet voice, not sure what she could be thinking about. When she didn't answer, he moved slightly closer to her. "Hermione?"

It almost seemed like she was holding her breath. He couldn't see her very well in the dark and her head was turned down and away from him. But before he could ask her again if she was alright, she let out a stifled sob and covered her face with her hands.

"Hermione?" Ron scooted even closer. He wanted to hold her but he wasn't sure if he should, if she wanted him to. "What it is? Has something happened?"

It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea what Hermione may have been through since they had parted on the platform a week ago... _Damn the consequences_, he thought, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her towards him. She responded by turning in towards him and nearly knocking him back into the bed. She wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders and cried into his neck. He tried not to feel happy about holding her so closely. This wasn't the time to feel happy about anything. Hermione was crying, and he had no idea why...

"My... parents..." Hermione choked out through sobs.

Ron felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure what he'd do if she told him they were injured... or worse... He waited for her to go on, not sure what he should say yet.

"I sent them away," Hermione whispered through her tears.

Ron felt relief wash over him. But he realized almost instantly that he might not have the whole story yet.

"Sent them away where?" he asked softly.

"To Australia. So they would be safe," Hermione cried.

Ron paused to think about this for a moment, and when Hermione didn't go on, he thought that it was probably safe to assume that they weren't in danger at the moment.

"Okay, so that's good then, right?" Ron said, trying to sound positive. "You protected them."

But apparently this had not been the right thing to say. Hermione began to sob uncontrollably again and Ron felt the collar of his t-shirt getting wetter by the second.

"Ron... oh, Ron, what have I done?" she cried, her fists clenched in the back of Ron's cotton shirt.

"Hermione," Ron began, but now he really was confused. What was she on about? He moved one hand into her hair and let his fingers tangle into it slightly. "What happened?" he tried after a moment.

"They... they don't remember me. They don't know me!"

Ron's eyes widened. She continued to cry and he felt her back shaking.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked slowly after a moment.

"I... I altered their memories."

Ron's eyes widened even more.

"What?" he asked, trying not to sound as shocked as he felt. Hermione let out another huge sob and he felt her shaking worse than ever.

"I had to do it!" Hermione cried defensively. "I had to! They don't know who they are. They don't know who I am. So they'll be safe, you see?"

Ron did see, and now that it made sense to him, what Hermione had done... he felt completely awed by the girl in his arms, not that this was the first time he'd felt that way about her. He ducked his head slightly so his face was pressed against the top of her head.

"That's about the bravest thing I've ever heard of," he said into her hair.

"Brave?" Hermione said questioningly into Ron's shoulder.

"Yeah! Blimey! I don't know if I would have been able to do something like that..."

Hermione pulled back from him now, and he raised his head so she could move away. She looked up at him, tears still pooling in her eyes.

"It isn't horrid, what I've done?"

"Course not," Ron said honestly. "You may have saved their lives. Dunno why I didn't think of something like that before you left the platform..."

Hermione sniffed and removed her arms from around Ron to wipe her eyes and cheeks with the side of her hand.

"I... I don't know if I can reverse it," Hermione whispered, her voice breaking.

"Sure you can," Ron said, not a hint of doubt in his voice. And he didn't doubt her. He knew that if anyone could reverse the spell, it would be Hermione. And he didn't even really know what spell she had used. He just knew that it would work out. It was Hermione after all.

"But you don't _know _that, Ron," Hermione said seriously.

"Yeah, I do. When have you ever failed, Hermione?"

She sighed, her breath coming out shakily.

"But that's the problem, isn't it?" Hermione said softly, shaking her head.

"What is?" Ron asked, confused.

"Everyone thinks I'm just brilliant at everything."

"Because you are," Ron stated simply.

He caught a slight smile playing at the corners of Hermione's lips before she continued.

"That doesn't mean I'm perfect. You and Harry both expect me to be. And I'm not always going to get everything right. I'm so scared that I'll screw up everything because there will be something I won't be able to get us out of, something that we'll get into that's way over our heads."

"Hermione," Ron began, feeling a bit guilty all of a sudden. "We don't expect you to figure everything out on your own. We're not going to just sit back like we do in History of Magic and expect you to get us out of trouble at every turn." Ron gave her a half smile, hoping to cheer her up slightly with his joke. It seemed to work as she returned the smile. "We're going to do this _together_. All three of us."

Hermione smiled wider at Ron now and sniffed back her remaining tears.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"'Course." Ron blushed slightly and had to look away from Hermione for a moment, hoping that she hadn't noticed. "I'm really sorry about your parents, Hermione. But they're safe. They'll be alright. And when this is all over, we'll go and find them and bring them home."

"We?" Hermione asked, grinning again.

"Yeah," Ron said, nodding. "Didn't think I was going to let you go alone, did you? In fact, now that you're here, I hope you know that you aren't going anywhere without me again."

"Ever?" Hermione said playfully, raising her eyebrows at Ron.

"Ever." Ron sat back against his pillow in a final sort of way and put his hands behind his head . "So get used to it."

"Okay," Hermione said, nodding. "I'm used to it."

"Already?" Ron asked, grinning.

"Yeah, I wasn't planning on letting you go anywhere without me either so it works out."

"Perfect," Ron said, and then Hermione did something he could never have expected. She scooted up to the head of the bed and rested back against his pillow right next to him. Her left shoulder rested up against his right one, and as she settled into the pillow, most of the left side of her body rested against the right side of his. He had never felt goosebumps quite this severe before...

After a long silent paused filled only by the sporadic breathing of both of them, Hermione spoke in a voice so small that it was hard for Ron to hear her and breath at the same time. So he held his breath the moment her tiny voice broke the silence.

"Ron... do you think that I could... well, Ginny's bound to be asleep. I left my trunk downstairs. And Harry's not here. His bed's still here in your room and..."

Hermione fell silent again. Ron blinked. Was she asking... to sleep in his room??

"It's okay," Hermione continued after what seemed like an eternity of extremely awkward silence. She moved slightly next to Ron and he had the feeling that she was about to get up. "Don't worry about it... I was just-"

"Wait," Ron cut in, turning onto his side towards her now so that he could actually look at her. "You... you can stay. I wasn't... trying to make you think that you couldn't..." He felt his face heat up to such an extreme temperate that he was sure it would soon set fire.

"Oh," Hermione whispered. "Okay. Thank you."

Silence engulfed them as Hermione leaned back slightly against Ron's pillow again. He didn't move but remained on his side facing her, trying not to look directly at her in case she caught him. He picked at a frayed bit of his blanket between them and focused his eyes on it.

"Ron?" Hermione said in a tiny voice after a long moment.

"Hm?"

"Do you... do you think we'll make it?"

Ron opened his mouth slightly to reply, but he wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't been expecting Hermione to ask him something like this...

"I..." but he stopped, wanting to tell her that they would make it, that everything would be fine, but knowing that he couldn't lie to her, and he was honestly terrified of what was coming. "I don't know," he said finally. "I really don't."

He felt Hermione tremble slightly beside him but still couldn't bring himself to look directly at her. She was so close... His heart was pounding rapidly as he thought of what to say next.

"But no one does know, do they?" he continued. "We've got a plan..." Ron paused, then added, "sort of." He smiled slightly, though he wasn't sure Hermione had seen him. "And we've got some time," he went on, "to work everything else out. We're not going to jump into anything completely unprepared."

"But how can we be prepared when we don't even know what it is that we need to prepare for? Sure, we have some idea, we know what we have to do. We have to finish off the Horcruxes, then hunt down Voldemort." Ron flinched, but Hermione ignored him. "But we have no idea what obstacles we'll be up against."

Ron thought hard for a long moment, unsure of what to say to comfort her. But finally, he felt his own heart lighten slightly as his thoughts shifted from doom and destruction to hope and... love... Though he wouldn't be able to tell her how he felt exactly, he at least had one thing that he felt confident enough to say aloud.

"We've made it through before, haven't we. Every year there's been something, hasn't there... And we haven't failed yet. Sure, some of that was luck. But there's just something about the way we work together, the three of us. Do you feel it too? It's like we're meant for this, like we were destined for it. And I don't think I'd feel that way if we didn't have a chance of making it, if we weren't meant to succeed."

Ron felt Hermione shift in the bed beside him and he chanced a glance at her. She had moved onto her side facing him directly now. He smiled at her as she stared into his eyes, and he stared back, though his ears and cheeks were burning.

"I feel it too," Hermione said softly, her lips forming into a smile to match Ron's.

"Good," Ron said. His heart pounded furiously in his chest, but he didn't want to look away from her now that she was smiling at him. He felt his insides go soft and warm, and though it wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling, he never wanted it to end.

"Yes, it is good," Hermione said with a nod and a yawn.

Their eyes became heavier and heavier as they stared at one another across Ron's pillow, and before they knew it, they were sleeping soundly next to each other, Ron's left hand resting mere inches from Hermione's right as if begging to hold hers in his dreams.


	2. Before It's Too Late

**Chapter 2 - Before It's Too Late**

Ron woke the next morning to an empty cold space where Hermione had once been. He instantly remembered very clearly falling asleep next to her. He felt a little foolish for not setting an alarm or doing anything at all to prevent his mother from walking in on them in bed together. But now that Hermione was gone, he felt a combination of relief and disappointment that she hadn't stayed or at least woken him up when she left the room.

Breakfast was quiet, and Ron was surprised to not find Hermione at the table. So he ate quickly and headed back upstairs to find her. But the shower was running and he caught a glimpse of Ginny through her cracked bedroom door, so he assumed Hermione must be in the shower. He felt his cheeks flush thinking about that, then turned and headed up to his room. After all, his mother had threatened his life if his room wasn't clean by the time Harry arrived in a few weeks...

* * *

Hermione stepped out of the shower, dried quickly, and dressed. As she crossed the hallway into Ginny's room, she glanced up the stairs towards the next landing, thinking of Ron all the way up in the highest room. She had left his room the moment she had woken, terrified that his mother would find her there, but also equally afraid that something was happening, something was changing that might never be able to be reversed.

She entered Ginny's room now very distracted, and didn't even notice Ginny smirking at her as she busied herself with unpacking her trunk.

"So," Ginny said after a moment. "Sleep well?"

But Hermione did not answer. She hadn't even really heard what Ginny was saying. She was biting her lip, her forehead creased with worry, and as Ginny moved closer to her friend, the smirk fell from her face and was replaced by a concerned frown.

"What is it, Hermione?" Ginny asked as she sat on the edge of the camp bed that had been set up several days ago in her room for Hermione. "Hey, Hermione," Ginny tried again when Hermione did not answer.

"Mmm," Hemione mumbled as she turned and sat on the edge of the mattress next to Ginny, her eyes fixed forward on a random bit of wall opposite the bed.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked seriously. There was a long pause during which Hermione simply continued to stare forward, her lip between her teeth. Then finally, with a sigh that came out as almost a moan, Hermione closed her eyes and began to speak.

"Ginny, I don't know what to do! What am I going to do?"

Ginny stared at her for a moment, completely confused.

"What are you going to do about what?"

Hermione groaned and fell sideways onto the camp bed, her head resting against the edge of the mattress.

"Hermione, what happened?" Ginny tried again.

"I don't know," Hermione said through a grimace. "But now I might have totally ruined everything." Ginny paused, waiting for Hermione to elaborate. But when she didn't, Ginny moved a bit closer to Hermione and rested her hand on Hermione's back.

"Did something happen with Ron?"

Hermione shut her eyes tightly and Ginny nodded.

"I thought so. Is that where you were last night?"

Hermione said nothing, but Ginny knew the answer from her silence.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Whatever it is. Whatever..." Ginny paused for a moment, searching for the right word... "_happened_."

Hermione's eyes opened, but her forehead remained creased, not out of worry at the moment, but out of confusion.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Well," Ginny started again. "I'm assuming you slept together?"

Hermione blushed bright red.

"Ginny!" she said quickly, sitting up in the bed.

Ginny's cheeks began to flush too as she realized what she had just implied.

"Oh! I didn't mean, you know... _that _way," Ginny corrected. "I meant actual sleep. I know you got here last night but you never came in here. So I figured you just fell asleep in Ron's room. But I don't really know what happened so... if you _did_, _you know_, do something else..."

Hermione's eyes widened.

"Ginny! Of course not!"

"Sorry," Ginny said, giggling slightly. "Just thought I'd get that out there in case..."

"Well, you can forget about _that_. I fell asleep in his bed, that's all." Hermione's cheeks were crimson by this point. Ginny smiled at Hermione reassuringly.

"Okay," she said, scooting back against the wall behind the camp bed. "So what's the problem then?"

"Oh, Ginny!" Hermione wailed, covering her face with her hands. "This wasn't what I planned! I didn't want this!"

"Didn't want what? To sleep in Ron's bed?" Ginny asked slightly sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't seem to work. Hermione just shook her head and sighed.

"I don't know what to do now. I'm sorry for bothering you with this, Ginny."

"I asked, didn't I?" Ginny said logically. "And besides, everybody needs someone to talk to now and again. You know you've gotten to be a pretty close friend to me over the years, and I would share just about anything with you. I want you to know you can do the same... you know, if you need to. It can get tiring being around all these boys all the time. Believe me, I know." Ginny smiled and Hermione uncovered her face to return it.

"You're right," Hermione said, nodding, though her tone was one of completion, as if she had said all that she was planning to say. "Thanks for listening."

Then Hermione stood from the bed and returned to her unpacking.

"No problem," Ginny said, unsure if Hermione was planning to continue with their conversation. But a few moments passed in silence and Ginny decided that it was best not to say anything else. After all, Hermione would talk when she was ready...

* * *

A week passed by, and Ron was having a very difficult time getting Hermione on her own to talk to her. Every time he got close to her, she came up with some reason not to be in the room with him. She'd think of a chore or something she'd just thought of from a book... and Ron wasn't very good at coming up with reasons to be close to her that didn't require him telling her how he really felt... He wanted to be near her, to talk to her, to know what she was thinking. She had left his room after what had to have been the closest conversation they had ever had... and certainly after the closest proximity they had ever shared. Ron had begun to wonder over the past year if Hermione could possibly feel something for him that went outside the realm of friendship, but now he wasn't sure what he had seen before.

He honestly didn't know what he'd even be able to say to her if they managed to end up alone together long enough to talk. He couldn't very well just tell her he fancied her, especially after the last week. She had been avoiding him after all, he was sure of that. And whatever reason she had, Ron doubted that it had anything to do with her fancying him back...

So finally, on the tenth day, Ron decided that he had to talk to Ginny. He knew that if Hermione had talked to anyone about what she was feeling, about why she was avoiding him, it would have been Ginny. He also knew that Ginny was not very likely to divulge Hermione's secrets, and Ron didn't particularly love the idea of having to hint to Ginny about his feelings for Hermione, so he spent most of the day trying to come up with a legitimate reason that he could have to need to know why Hermione was avoiding him.

But his perfect moment to speak to his sister came while he was still unprepared. She happened into the kitchen while Ron was attempting to clean the windows with a spell from one of his mother's books, a task that she had set him early that morning. Ron noticed almost immediately that he was alone in the room with the person he had intended to end up alone in a room with, and he found his mouth opening without really thinking about what he was saying.

"Ginny, where's Hermione?"

"Dunno," Ginny said as she rifled through a pile of what looked like cloth streamers, something Ron was sure was for the upcoming wedding. They had all been quite busy with preparations.

"I haven't seen her today," Ron contined, trying not to sound too serious.

"Well," Ginny continued in a distracted sort of way, "Mum's probably got her helping with a chore for the wedding." And then Ginny was standing up straight again and heading for the door. Ron saw his chance at figuring out why Hermione didn't seem to want to be near him slipping away, and he dropped the dirty rag he was holding in his left hand as he lunged for the door.

"Wait!" he called as his sister started to turn into the hallway. She stopped and turned back, looking slightly annoyed but slightly amused as well.

"What is it, Ron?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"She's been avoiding me, hasn't she," Ron blurted before he knew what he was saying.

"What makes you think that?" Ginny asked innocently. A bit too innocently, Ron thought.

"She's said something to you, yeah?" Ron asked, but it was more of a statement. Ginny shrugged. "Please," Ron begged, and Ginny's expression actually turned softer at his plea.

"Look, you just need to talk to her," Ginny said reasonably.

"But that's the problem, isn't it!" Ron shouted. "She won't let me! Whenever she realizes that weren't alone, she leaves the room, comes up with some stupid excuse not to have to be near me. And it's frustrating and I want to know why!"

Ginny stared at her brother for a moment, a mixture of pity and apology in her eyes. Ron knew instantly that she was not planning on telling him a thing.

"Ron, next time she starts to leave, just tell her you need to have a word. I'm sure she'll listen."

"But it's not that easy," Ron said, looking away from his sister as his ears reddened.

"I know you can do it," Ginny said, smiling reassuringly. "Just ask her what's wrong. Tell her you're worried, which you clearly are."

Ron's blush rushed up his cheeks.

"If she still doesn't talk to you, I'll have a word with her and see if I can persuade her to talk to you herself."

"Thanks," Ron breathed, his eyes fixed on the carpet.

"Sure," Ginny said, and then she was gone.

* * *

Two days later, Ron got his opportunity. For the first time in several days, he entered a room to find Hermione alone. His heart nearly stopped when he realized where he was and what he had to do. He stood in the doorway, blocking Hermione's escape from the room. He watched as she met eyes with him for a brief second, then looked away quickly. Ron could almost see her brain working to come up with an excuse for her to make a quick exit.

"I... I, uh," she started as she moved towards the door that Ron was still blocking. "I need to help Ginny fold the sheets."

"Didn't you already do that yesterday?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"I..." Hermione looked down at her feet. "There are more of them. We didn't get... finished."

"Hermione," Ron started, his voice cracking a bit. This was it. He was going to have to say something to make her stay in this room with him. "What's going on with you? You have been avoiding me I think and-" but he stopped abruptly as a thick tear dripped from Hermione's eye. "Hermione," he said in a much softer voice.

"I need to go upstairs, Ron..." she whispered.

"Yeah," Ron said, distracted from his goal by her tears. He stepped aside to allow her to pass through the door and out of sight. He closed his eyes defeatedly as she disappeared up the stairs.

* * *

The next morning, Ginny approached Ron where he was denoming the garden.

"Ron," she said as he hurled a particularly large gnome through the air. "Did you, you know, take my advice?"

"Yeah," Ron said bitterly. "Lot of good that did me."

"I'll talk to her," Ginny said firmly.

"Something's really bothering her, Gin," Ron said, allowing his arms to fall limply to his sides. "And she doesn't want to tell me about it. Just try to find out what's wrong and cheer her up, even if she doesn't want you to tell me about it."

Ginny stared at her brother, her eyes softening.

"Okay, Ron," she said gently with a nod. "I'll talk to her tonight."

* * *

That night, Ginny waited in her bedroom for Hermione to come in from her shower. Ginny was not going to let Hermione go to sleep until she explained exactly what was going on between her and Ron, or at least until she agreed to talk to him about it. Though Ginny didn't always get along with her brothers, she couldn't stand to see them so upset, especially now with Ron. Ginny didn't think she had ever seen Ron so depressed about anything before. Even Ron and Hermione's worst rows had not left him in quite this state, or at least he hadn't shown this side to Ginny.

As Hermione entered the room moments later, it was clear that she sensed something was up. She stared at Ginny suspiciously as she approached her camp bed.

"What?" Hermione finally asked.

"What's going on between you and Ron?" Ginny asked directly. Hermione looked away from Ginny instantly.

"Nothing. What do you mean-" but Ginny cut her off.

"I know something's up. Ron is so damn worried about you, Hermione. He's so worried that he wants me to figure out what's bothering you and to not even report back to him if you don't want him to know. Does that sound like Ron to you? He's usually quite a nosey little bugger, isn't he? So when he told me that he only wanted to make sure you were okay, even if you wouldn't talk to him, I knew this was serious."

Hermione looked back over at Ginny now, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"He... he said that?" Hermione choked.

"Yes," Ginny said with a nod.

"Oh," Hermione mouthed as she sat heavily on her camp bed. After a long pause, she looked down at her hands where they were folded in her lap. "I'll talk to him," she said. "Somehow."

"Okay," Ginny said, smiling at Hermione. "I think you'll be glad you did."

"I sure hope so..." Hermione whispered.

* * *

Ron awoke to what he assumed would be just another day. Hermione would avoid him, he'd do an ungodly number of chores, then he'd retire to his room to think about what was coming in the next few months for them. He'd replay all the things Harry had told them, the things that would help them to find the Horcruxes and destroy You-Know-Who. He'd try as hard as he could not to think about Hermione. His planning was a distraction that he had become accustomed to ever since the morning after Hermione had arrived at the Burrow.

But today was not destined to be like every other day. Ron entered the kitchen to find Hermione folding napkins in front of the counter. His shock at finding himself in the same room as her, and alone to top it off, was a bit overwhelming, especially when she glanced very briefly in his direction and continued to fold the napkins on the counter, showing no signs that she was working out a way to leave the room.

Ron couldn't move for a few moments, unable to believe that this opportunity to be in the same vacinity as Hermione had actually just fallen into his lap. He realized after a long moment that he was staring at Hermione's back as she worked, and suddenly, terrified that he'd scare her into leaving, he bustled over to the table and began to tidy things randomly, not really focusing on a single thing his hands were doing. And then out of nowhere she was turning towards him, her face set and determined. Her voice broke through the silence, and Ron nearly dropped the mug he was holding from surprise.

"Ron... can I... ask you something?" Hermione's cheeks were flushed, her hands twisting the napkin she was holding.

"Uh, yeah," Ron said, somewhat apprehensively, his heartbeat quickening. "Sure."

"Well..." Hermione swallowed hard and looked down at her hands as she spoke. "I've just been thinking."

Ron was terribly tempted to make a joke about this to lighten the mood, but he didn't think he'd be able to speak yet. His heart was racing now as he stared at Hermione. Whatever it was that she was about to ask him, he had a very strong feeling that it wasn't anything good.

Hermione sighed heavily and shakily, then began to pace as she continued to speak.

"I just don't think it's fair for a really big decision, a really important one, to not be made by everyone involved, wouldn't you agree?"

Ron opened his mouth to reply, but Hermione continued before he had the chance.

"And with everything that's been happening, it's just got me thinking, and I don't really know what to do now."

Ron stared as she stopped in front of the fireplace, facing away from him.

"Ron..." she said in a tiny voice. "Would you want to know, if there was something someone might feel for you that could change your... relationship... probably for good... considering the war and everything that it means, the person could die, _you _could die..."

Ron stood stunned, waiting for her to continue, practically holding his breath. Hermione turned away from the fireplace to face Ron, but she did not look at him. Her eyes remained turned down to where her hands were still twisting her napkin as she continued to speak in a scared sort of voice.

"And what if this person told you how they felt and then... then you couldn't return those feelings? How would you be able to go back to just being the way you were before? It would be... too awkward. And what if you _did_ feel the same way and... and something happened to the other person? Maybe... I just don't know if it would be better to know everything, or not to have to deal with knowing that they didn't return your feelings... or that they did and now you can never have what you want because... because they've _died_..."

Ron could see the tears forming in Hermione's eyes even though she wasn't looking at him. He felt a knot in his throat bigger than he had ever felt before. What did all of this mean? What could he possibly say? Was this what had been bothering Hermione for the past two weeks?

"I just... I don't want to ruin the time I have left with this person... I want things to be okay between us... and if I tell him... and he doesn't... feel the way I do..." Hermione trailed off, her voice wavering. It almost seemed as if Hermione had forgotten that Ron was in the room with her.

And suddenly, Ron felt his stomach drop. Who was Hermione talking about? He had hoped, dreamed that she could have maybe... just _maybe_... been referring to her relationship with _him_... but now... "if I tell _him_," "don't want to ruin the time I have left with _this_ _person_..." She couldn't mean what Ron had hoped she meant... She wouldn't have said it that way with him right there in the room if she had meant what he had hoped...

And then it hit him like a Bludger to the stomach. Harry.

"Harry," Ron muttered, hardly aware that he was speaking out loud. But Hermione didn't move at the sound of Harry's name, and even though Ron hadn't spoken very clearly, she must have heard him, right?

He stood staring forward at Hermione, so sick he thought he might throw up... but he was saved from having to reply when his mother walked into the kitchen looking flustered, hardly aware of Ron and Hermione standing there in awkward silence.

"Oh, dear," she said as she rummaged through a pile of frilly looking papers. "Ron, dear, have you seen the box marked tablecloths? Ginny swore that she left them down here in the kitchen last night after..."

But Mrs. Weasley looked up finally and noticed her son staring at his feet now, his forehead creased, and Hermione standing opposite him, a torn and very twisted napkin in her hands, her cheeks covered in tear tracks.

"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I'm interrupting."

"No, it's alright," Hermione sniffed, and she moved towards the door, ducking to hide her face from Mrs. Weasley. "I think I saw the box you're looking for upstairs this morning, on the second landing. I'll go and check."

"Oh," Mrs. Weasley said, still looking at Ron. "Alright. Thank you," and she turned away finally and headed back into the hallway.

Hermione, her head still down, moved to follow Mrs. Weasley, but Ron finally found his voice. He couldn't leave her this way. He cared way too much about her to let her suffer, even if she _did _fancy Harry. And he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. What if Harry returned her feelings? What if he fancied her too? After all, Ron had never talked to Harry about his own feelings for Hermione. She wasn't off limits. Harry could fancy her if he wanted to, even if he had just broken it off with Ginny... They'd be spending the next year together, possibly completely alone, plenty of time for Harry and Hermione to start a relationship... Ron felt that in some ways he'd rather die than have to suffer being with them if they were together. He knew he just would not be able to handle it. It would kill him. But if she really felt what he suspected she might... Ron had to do this. He had to say something, as her friend. He had to make sure that she was happy, that even if he would die inside, she would be able to go on living... at least for the time that they had left, however long that might be.

"I'd want to know," he said quietly, but he knew that Hermione had heard him when she stopped walking and stood with her back to him. He brushed past her and headed out the front door into the yard without another word.


	3. Couldn't You Tell?

**Chapter 3 - Couldn't You Tell?**

Hermione sat on her camp bed that night in Ginny's room, biting her lip, her hands folding tightly in her lap. Ginny folded clothes distractedly in front of her wardrobe, but when she turned around, her eyes landed on Hermione where she had closed her eyes tightly, her lips almost white where she was pressing them together.

"This might be the scariest thing I've ever had to do," Hermione said, her voice unsteady and barely audible. It was as if Hermione wasn't really talking to anyone, even though Ginny was only a few feet away in the same room.

"What might?" Ginny said softly, focused on Hermione now. Hermione opened her eyes and looked up at Ginny where she stood staring down at Hermione, her clothes forgotten.

"What I _have _to go say now," Hermione mumbled.

"Which is?" Ginny said, moving closer to where Hermione sat.

"I... can't..." Hermione breathed.

"Look," Ginny said, sitting down next to Hermione. "Just go and talk to him." Hermione glanced up at Ginny, slightly alarmed by her directness. "It'll be fine," Ginny continued. "And it certainly can't be worse than sitting in here going mental over it, can it? And it _definitely _can't be worse than the past two weeks have been for both of you, right?"

Hermione shook her head slightly.

"Okay," she said, and she stood from the bed and swallowed hard. "Here goes."

Ron sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. How had this happened? How had he not seen the signs of this coming? He had been so sure that things were changing between them, that Hermione might have started to see him in a way that at least vaguely resembled how he saw her. And now... how would he ever be able to face Harry again, knowing how Hermione felt about him? How would he be able to face _Hermione _again?

A knock on his door broke through his thoughts and he moved to answer it, hardly even realizing that the chances of it being Hermione were probably high. When he opened the door to reveal Hermione standing on the other side, he felt his stomach drop as it had earlier, and he found that he couldn't look directly at her as he moved away to let her come into the room. He turned his back towards her.

"What is it?" he asked. Hermione didn't answer right away, and he knew that she was staring at him. He could feel it.

"Ron, I need to talk to you about-"

But he turned around abruptly and cut her off, suddenly angry and unable to contain it.

"I think I've had enough personal conversations with you for one day, thanks."

Hermione's eyes instantly filled with tears and Ron wanted to jump out the window. He suddenly felt so terrible.

"Hermione," he said in a very small voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

But it was her turn to cut him off...

"You should have told me not to ask you what we talked about in the kitchen then! I gave you a chance to say you didn't want to hear about it."

"No, Hermione, that's not-"

But she cut him off again as if she hadn't heard him.

"Do you have any idea how hard this is for me?! Even being in this room with you right now... I almost didn't come up, but after what you said, that you'd want to know, I knew that I had to come up here and-"

"Well maybe I was wrong!" Ron shouted, some of his anger returning. "Maybe I _don't_ want to know _this_! Maybe if things were different, if it was actually _me _that you were referring to, then I'd want to know. But maybe you should go and ask the person that this really concerns instead of bothering me with it!"

Tears spilled down Hermione's face and her lips began to quiver.

"I'm sorry I ever bothered you!" she shouted back.

Ron felt guilt returning again and wanted to kick something... But then suddenly, Hermione seemed to realize something that Ron had said that didn't add up. Her eyebrows furrowed, and though she was still crying, it was obvious that something had confused her.

"And what do you mean 'ask the person that this concerns'? Who are you talking about?"

"Harry, of course," Ron said, looking away from Hermione so she wouldn't see all of the hurt and anger that he felt.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, shocked. "What does Harry have to do with this?"

For a glorious moment, Ron considered the option that he had gotten this whole thing wrong, that he had assumed she had been talking about Harry but that he was incorrect. But then he remembered what she had said in the kitchen.

"You said 'if I tell _him _and _he _doesn't feel the way I do'," Ron said, as if that cleared it all up.

"And you thought I was talking about Harry?" Hermione asked, astonished.

"Who else would you be talking about?" But then something struck Ron, something that now seemed so obvious he could hardly believe he hadn't thought of it before. "Krum..." he muttered, but Hermione heard him.

"No!" she shouted, her face getting redder by the second. "I wasn't talking about sodding Viktor Krum either, Ron, and would you stop bringing him into _everything?_!"

Ron stood silent for a moment, confused and upset... pieces of the puzzle seemed to be sliding into place, but he couldn't quite make them all fit.

"Wait..." he began, thinking aloud. "You weren't talking about Harry in the kitchen? And you weren't talking about Krum?"

Hermione made an impatient and desperate sound as more tears spilled down her cheeks.

"So... who were you on about then?" Ron demanded, turning to face her full on now.

"I was talking about _you_, you prat!" Hermione shouted through a sob.

Thick silence filled the air as this sunk in. Everything Hermione had said in the kitchen rushed back to Ron, all the confessions of her feelings, what this person would want her to say to them if they had a choice in the matter, if this certain someone would want to know how she felt about him... something that could change their relationship for good... and she didn't know if this person would return her feelings or not... She had been talking about him all along. She actually felt...

Ron stared at Hermione, his mouth open in shock, and finally, taking a deep breath, he knew what he had to say.

"Oh my God, Hermione. I had no bloody idea."

She wouldn't look at him, but he could see the tears still trickling down her face.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Ron continued in awe. "Do you have any idea how many times I've dreamed about this, imagined that you felt the same way I do?"

Hermione's shocked face looked up into Ron's and they stared at one another, Hermione's wet eyes glowing and wide, her mouth slightly open in shock.

"The same way... you do?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah! I mean... _you _do, right?" he asked, suddenly embarrassed again.

"Yes, Ron!" Hermione shouted. "How obvious can I make it?!"

And Ron found himself grinning, unable to stop, even though a deep blush was creeping slowly onto his cheeks.

"Wow..." he said, nothing more profound coming to mind other than cries of joy that he wasn't sure he should really let Hermione see or hear...

Hermione sniffed, but she was grinning through her tears now too.

"I'm sorry," Ron said quickly as he moved towards her. "I really upset you." And when he reached her, when he was standing mere inches in front of her, he knew what he should do, what he was now almost certainly allowed to do whenever he wanted to. He pulled her as close as he could, his arms wrapped tightly around her. Hermione responded almost instantly, clinging to Ron as she buried her face in his chest. And after a long moment, she spoke into his shirt.

"You actually thought I fancied Harry?" Ron heard the laughter in her voice and he grinned wider. For some reason, now that this little misunderstanding had been cleared up, the concept that he had been so quick to believe that Hermione fancied Harry was absolutely comical.

"Yeah. Completely mental, I know... well, I know _now_," he said through his grin.

Hermione pulled back from him and wiped at her cheeks and eyes to finish drying them, but Ron's arms remained around her.

"So, spell this out for me, because I need to be absolutely sure that I've got it all right," Ron said, trying to sound serious but his smile betraying him. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What? You want me to tell you again that I... that I fancy you?" Hermione said, blushing. Ron's grin spread even wider.

"That'd be nice, yeah," he said.

"Well, I just have, haven't I."

"Not exactly."

Hermione laughed.

"Fine!" she said, and she smiled up at him. "Ron, I fancy you. A lot. And I just thought you should know."

"Oh, really?" Ron said, feigning ignorance. "That's very interesting..."

Ron went silent, but continued to stare down at Hermione who looked back up at him expectantly.

"And now you have nothing to say about it?" she asked.

"Hm... I can't really think of anything," Ron said, looking up and pretending to think hard. "Nope," he said, looking back down at her. "I've got nothing."

"Prat," Hermione said as she attempted to move out of Ron's arms. But he stopped her, laughing.

"Hermione, I've just thought of something... and you should probably be made aware of it."

"Is that so?" Hermione said, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah. Hermione," Ron began, locking eyes with her. "I fancy you. A lot," Ron said, echoing Hermione's words. "And I just thought you should know."

"Hm," Hermione said, grinning again now. "That sounds awfully familiar..."

"Does it?"

"Definitely."

And almost instantly, something between them shifted from playful to... well, something else that Ron had never experienced before in his life. His eyes darted to Hermione's lips and his heart flipped over as her eyes copied his movements, darting down to glance darkly at _his _lips. His breathing was ragged and shallow now and he tried to calm down as his body began to tingle all over, every spot that was touching Hermione, his chest, his arms, even his forehead that had somehow inched forward and down to rest against hers.

He wanted her to say something, anything, to break the tension between them. But at the same time, he desperately wanted to stay trapped in this blissful agony for the rest of his days.

_Kiss her! Kiss her!_ his brain shouted. His ears buzzed as blood pumped furiously from his rapidly beating heart to the rest of his body. This was it. He could move three inches and his life would change forever. There would be no going back if he kissed her. And if he was really being honest, there was no going back at this point anyway. This was what he wanted. _She _was all he wanted.

"Hermione," he mumbled, unsure if her name had been even vaguely clear as it passed from the frog in his throat through his tingling lips.

Her lips moved very slightly, and though he hadn't heard a thing, he knew she had been trying to say his name back. And in that instant, the moment her lips had parted and he had felt rather than heard his own name coming from her mouth where it waited inches from his own, he could no longer control his own body. He could no more stop himself from kissing her than he could stop breathing and go on living.

His lips touched hers after what seemed like an endless closing of that tiny little distance, those three little inches. His eyes shut tight, but not before locking with hers the moment that their lips touched for the first time.

Every bad or scary thought he had ever felt drifted out of his mind as if turned instantly to vapor. It was as if his life was over and he was now glimpsing something beautiful on the other side, something perfect. His heart could have stopped right then, he could have died there wrapped around her with his eyes shut tight and he would never regret a moment of his life.

His stomach was one giant knot of butterflies. His chest, where it touched Hermione's, was soaring as if lighter than air. His right hand found Hermione's cheek and he could feel his heartbeat in his fingertips. He wondered if she could feel it too. As he moved his lips against hers, he felt his temperate rising. She responded, moving her lips gently against his as if her life depended on this moment, and in a way, Ron ecstatically felt that his life actually did.

As they pulled apart to breathe, Ron felt so dizzy that he wasn't sure he'd be able to go on standing. Hermione's weight pressed against him, and as her eyes opened slowly, he knew that she must feel the same way. Her knees were beginning to bend and her arms were slackening around his neck.

"Here," Ron croaked in a scratchy voice. He reached behind Hermione to shut his door with a shaky hand. Then he pulled her towards his bed where they collapsed together onto their sides, facing one another.

Ron felt his whole body trembling, and he could feel Hermione shaking as well. His hand moved absentmindedly up her side, his fingers floating over her cotton shirt. Hermione giggled nervously as she scooted a bit closer to Ron on the bed, pressing their bodies against each other. Ron felt his face heat up, but he smiled giddily back at Hermione as he pressed his forehead against hers on the pillow. His lips ached for hers again, but before he even had time to think about his next move, Hermione slid forward on the pillow and crushed her lips against his. Ron's eyes snapped shut blissfully as he breathed through his long nose, holding Hermione as close as he could.

As it had been the first time moments ago, all conscious thought drifted away from Ron when their lips met, and he was full of nothing but soaring emotions that made him feel as if he might explode. He finally understood what that was like after all this time, how it was to feel so complete, so overwhelmed, that you could hardly stand it.

When they finally parted again to breathe, Ron found that no real words were left floating to his lips. He had nothing to say, nothing that he'd be able to say anyway. He had plenty of things that he wanted to tell her, to make her understand. He wanted her to know that she was everything, that nothing else in his whole world mattered now or ever would. But as he stared back into her eyes, he felt like he'd never be able to say it, so he concentrated on making her see it in his eyes. He watched as her eyes filled with tears again, but this time he knew it was for another reason, a much better one than earlier. And all of sudden, before he even realized it was happening, his own eyes were blurring as tears pooled in them.

"Ron," Hermione breathed as she reached up to cup his cheek in her hand.

"Thank you," Ron found himself whispering to no one as his eyes fluttered shut, several tears edging their way out of his eyes. He felt Hermione brush them away with trembling fingertips, and he breathed in deeply, somewhat nervously, but in a more satisfying way than he ever had before. Everything felt perfect. Nothing could go wrong. He had once thought of his life as beginning his first year at Hogwarts. He now knew that he had been wrong. His life had just begun moments ago in his bedroom at the Burrow, and only one person had been there to see it, the person who had brought him to life.


	4. Dust and Lies

**Chapter 4 - Dust and Lies**

When Ron opened his eyes the next morning, his first thought was that it had all been a dream. He wasn't a particularly lucky person. Not that he was unlucky, but things like what he remembered happening the night before just did not happen to him. They just didn't...

But then why was Hermione curled up against him under his blanket, sleeping soundly and breathing gently, sweet puffs of air blowing feather light across his neck?

Not possible. Nope. Just not possible.

Ron stared at the top of Hermione's head, his brain struggling to process the fact that it _was _possible. That it actually... _was_.

He swallowed and tried not to focus on the butterflies that had sprung furiously to life in his stomach. He tried to remind himself that she had wound up in his bed once before a few weeks ago. But she had been upset. She hadn't wanted to wake Ginny, she'd said. She wanted company, and understandably after what she'd been forced to do to her parents...

But now Ron felt her stirring next to him, her arm squeezing his waist a little tighter as her head moved against his shoulder, her hair tickling his face.

He felt lightheaded, slightly sick, and the happiest he could ever remember being. He tightened his grip around her back, his arm pulling her against his side even closer, and then, something incredible happened. She tilted her head up to look at him... and smiled at him.

If he hadn't been lying down, he was almost sure he would have collapsed.

"Hey," he managed to say finally.

"Hey," she said back sleepily, her cheeks going a bit pink.

They stared sleepily at each other, wide smiles on their faces, their hearts beating fast, until suddenly Hermione's eyes went wide.

"What?" Ron asked quickly.

"Your mum! What if she comes up here?!" Hermione whispered frantically. "I'd better go..."

And then she was sitting up, sliding out of Ron's arms, and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Ron suddenly felt very cold. He knew Hermione was probably right, so he let her stand and head for the door. She pulled open the door slowly and peered out onto the landing. Satisfied by the lack of noise or moving people near the top of the house, she opened the door wider. Ron sat up in his bed, trying to think of something to say before she left. But just as she was about to walk through the door, she turned back towards him, not quite looking directly at him, her face flushed.

"Ron," she whispered. "Thanks for letting me stay in your room... again." She blushed even deeper.

"Nah, you can stay anytime," Ron said before he had a chance to think about his words. But Hermione grinned at him, then slipped through the door and out of sight.

* * *

In the shower fifteen minutes later, Ron let the warm water run over his body for longer than was really necessary. It felt a lot better in the shower than he knew it would outside in the summer heat doing some mental chore that his mother was sure to assign him the moment she saw him. There wasn't much on his mind, however, other than Hermione. He wanted to kiss her again. It was practically all he had thought about since waking up. For one of the first mornings in his life, he had yet to think about food, and he had already been awake for half an hour.

He finally stepped out of the shower and dried quickly, then dressed, looking at himself in the mirror. He always glanced at his reflection after a shower to be sure his hair wasn't sticking up at any angles that were too insane. But he never really thought much about his appearance. There were several things that he wasn't particularly fond of... his freckles, for one, and his ginger hair which had always bothered him. He also knew that his nose was a bit too long, but it was so covered in freckles (one of the worst things about his appearance, he thought) that he hardly ever got far enough in his personal critique to notice.

But for some reason, when he looked at himself today, he found that he was thinking about how these things might not be so bad. So what if he had hair that could very easily be described as orange? Maybe that wasn't so terrible. After all, his whole family had hair very close to the same color. Maybe it did make it obvious what family he belonged to, but he was proud of his family, not disappointed. He was proud to be a part of a pure blood family that embraced Muggles and wizards and witches with non-magic parents. There was never a day in his life that he could recall not feeling fond of Muggles. Considering his father worked in the Muggle Artifacts Office, he had been brought up around Muggle things and Muggle ways, even if he didn't understand most of them and often thought of them as a bit dodgy, he still had respect for them, something that plenty of pure blood families could not say.

And then there was Hermione. When he thought of the way Malfoy would insult them if he found out that Hermione and Ron were together, a Muggle born witch with a pure blood wizard, it made him grin. He could hardly wait for the day when Malfoy found out. Then he'd have quite a good excuse to punch Malfoy right in the nose, something he fantasized about on a regular basis.

Grinning to himself about punching Malfoy, he opened the bathroom door, a large billowing amount of smoke flowing out into the hallway before he had even cleared the doorway. Just as he was about to turn left and head back up towards his room, he heard Ginny and Hermione's voices behind Ginny's closed door just in front of him. Though he was quite sure they weren't aware of it, he could hear what they were saying perfectly clearly.

"I told you, didn't I!" Ginny said excitedly.

"I know, Ginny," Hermione laughed. "It wasn't that I _doubted _you exactly..."

"No?" Ginny said sarcastically. "Oh, well you had me fooled..."

"How was I supposed to know?" Hermione asked, a smile still evident in her voice.

"Well, shall I list the totally obvious signs or the kind of mildly obvious ones first?" Ginny said.

Hermione laughed.

In the hallway, Ron's eyes had gradually widened throughout what he was hearing. Were they talking about him? Even though he knew he shouldn't be here - he absolutely should _not _be standing here eavesdropping - he just couldn't help it... He was far too curious. They began speaking again...

"I'm so glad I told him," Hermione sighed.

Now Ron was nearly certain they were talking about him...

"Me too," Ginny said. "Merlin, I'm so glad I don't have to watch Ron make a fool of himself trying to hide his feelings from you."

Ron felt his cheeks heat up. Hermione giggled.

"So what exactly did you tell him?" Ginny asked slyly.

"You know what I told him, Ginny!" Hermione replied, her voice rising nervously.

"Nuh uh," Ginny laughed.

"_Ginny_," Hermione groaned.

"Not that I want all the sick details..." Ginny added, clearly grinning.

"Ginny!" Hermione shouted. Ginny laughed. "I... I told him that... that I fancy him," Hermione said in a softer voice after a moment.

Ron took a step closer to Ginny's bedroom door, knowing that this was very wrong of him, but unable to leave now. He was already in this deep, might as well hear the rest...

"That's _all_?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"Well, yes," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Well, that was a lie."

Ron's heartbeat quickened. What did Ginny mean by that?

"No it wasn't..." Hermione said, but her voice was unsteady.

"You totally know it was," Ginny said.

"But what was I supposed to say?" Hermione said a bit desperately. "I know I did the right thing."

"You could have gone one step further..." Ginny said slyly.

"No, what I did was good enough. He knows I fancy him now, and..." Hermione paused. "I know he fancies me back," she finished, the smile returning to her voice.

Ron felt a bit relieved, but also confused... what was it that Ginny thought Hermione had lied about?

"Ginny, I really don't want to scare him off," Hermione said.

Ginny snorted.

"No, really, Gin!" Hermione said quickly. "Look, it makes sense. I... I know that I... _love _him... but that's not going to be easy to say..."

Ron's eyes widened to perfect circles. Hermione _loved him_. His brain began a constant chant... She _loves _me. She _loves _me. _She loves me!!_

"I'll obviously tell him eventually, but I want to do this right," Hermione continued. "It's got to be slow."

"Why?" Ginny asked, a grin in her voice now again.

"Well_ I_ don't need things to be slow," Hermione said, and Ron thought he could _hear _the blush in her voice. "But I want to make sure that I don't mess anything up. Do you have any idea how much this means to me? Last night was the best night of my life, Ginny. If I said something to ruin it..."

"You think Ron wouldn't say he loves you back if you went up there and told him right this second?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted.

"Well, I know," Ginny stated.

There was a long silence. Ron wondered if they were done talking, and he held his breath, scared that someone might leave the room, but far too curious about what they might say next to leave his spot mere inches in front of Ginny's bedroom door.

"Ginny," Hermione said softly. "I love him so much it almost hurts."

Ron's heart was beating so fast now that he thought it might explode. He wanted to run into Ginny's room, tell Hermione that he felt exactly the same way, then tell Ginny to bugger off for the rest of the day...

"Hermione," Ginny said sweetly. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thank you," Hermione said, her voice cracking a little.

There was silence again. Then finally, Ron heard shuffling from behind the door. He had just enough time to take a step back, putting him in front of the open bathroom door, before Ginny's bedroom door opened, revealing Hermione on the other side. Her eyes widened.

"Ron!" she exclaimed, a bit alarmed. Ron tried to adjust his face so he wouldn't so clearly show signs of having just overheard the best news ever...

"Uh, hey," he mumbled, then cleared his throat. "Just... just finished in the shower." He gestured unnecessarily to the bathroom behind him.

"Oh," Hermione said, looking vaguely relieved, but still a bit startled.

"So, it's free," Ron added, trying not to look directly at Hermione.

"Oh, okay," Hermione said. "Thanks."

Ron turned to head upstairs, but then suddenly, realizing that his behavior had been a bit odd, he turned back to face Hermione as she crossed the hallway to the bathroom.

"Hermione," he called down. "When you're done in the shower, do you want to go for a walk with me? I'm sure Mum will have a load of chores for us all to do, but maybe we can sneak off for a few minutes?"

Hermione grinned up at him, her face turning pink.

"Yes, I'd love to," Hermione said, and Ron smiled back at her, then turned and continued up the stairs to his room.

* * *

_Did this count as a date?_ Ron wondered as he paced his room. He was terribly nervous all of a sudden. It had been twenty minutes, and he was sure Hermione had finished in the shower already. He had put on clean socks and was completely ready to go, but he had decided something a few minutes ago, something that was making his insides feel like wriggling snakes.

Ginny told Hermione that she had lied to Ron. Hermione had told Ron that she fancied him, but not that she _loved _him. Well, in that case, Ron had lied to Hermione as well. And now that he knew how Hermione really felt, it was down to him to tell her how he really felt about her. He had made up his mind. She had clearly said in Ginny's room that she was only planning to take things slow with Ron because she was worried that he wanted it that way. But he sure as hell didn't. He knew how much he loved her. He knew that he would never change his mind. And he knew now that she needed to know that too. Then she could say it back as he was sure she would, and... well, whatever happened after that would be perfect. Getting past this would make a lot of things a lot easier. He knew it would.

He didn't know how long they would have together. As much as he didn't like to think about it, it was true that anything could happen. Anything could go wrong, could change... but right now, they had each other. He didn't want to wait any longer, to draw anything else out. He wanted to have everything that Hermione wanted. He would do anything for her, and anything she asked him to.

And now, as soon as they got outside, he had to tell her. He just had to. But even though he knew she would return his feelings, it was driving him mad just thinking about what he was going to say...

Finally, when he thought he couldn't possibly make Hermione wait any longer, he headed downstairs, his heart pounding furiously, his blood pumping rapidly through his veins.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Hermione was standing by the front door, slipping her feet into her shoes. When Ron crossed the entryway, she looked up and smiled at him. He smiled nervously back, stepped into his own shoes, and opened the door for her.

"Thanks," she said through her smile as she stepped through the door. He followed her down the front steps and into the yard.

"Where to?" he asked, and Hermione shrugged.

"Anywhere," she said.

"Surprised Mum didn't stop us," Ron said as they began to walk. "I didn't see her in the kitchen though. That was lucky."

"She was there when I came down, asked if you could help trim the bushes when you came down. I told her I'd tell you."

"Ah," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "Knew it." He paused for a second, then glanced over at Hermione, grinning. "But you didn't stop me from going on this little walk with you."

"Of course not. I haven't seen you come down from your room yet," Hermione said, giggling.

"Oh, yeah, _right_," Ron said, grinning wider.

They continued to walk in silence for a few moments, Ron's mind racing over all the possible ways that he could tell Hermione what he had to tell her... His stomach was twisting and squeezing, making him feel quite sick. _Just get it over with!_ his brain screamed as they neared the edge of the yard.

Ron started to slow down, knowing that he was running out of time. This was it. He had to tell her. Hermione seemed to notice him slowing down and she turned to look at him. A flash of concern crossed her face as their eyes met, and Ron knew he must look ill. His hands were shaking slightly and he wasn't sure what color his face was at this point...

"Ron," Hermione began, "are you okay?"

Ron stopped walking completely and shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Ron?" Hermione tried again after a moment.

Ron let out a long shaky breath and stared down at his feet. _Just do it! Just say it!_

He opened his mouth, but no words made it out. He closed his mouth, sighed, and opened it again. _Come on! Come on! _his brain shouted.

Finally, his eyes darted up to Hermione's for a second and he saw the concern etched into her features. He knew this was it. Time to be brave. He was going to tell her that he had lied to her too, just like Ginny had accused Hermione of...

"You know what I said last night, about fancying you?" Ron began, taking a deep breath. "Well, that's not really true..."

Hermione froze, her eyes suddenly wide and terrified.

"Wh... what?" she managed to choke out.

Ron ran a shaky hand through his hair. He couldn't believe what he was about to say, but he had to do it. He had come this far, hadn't he?

"It's... not exactly true," he said again. Hermione stepped back as if stung, and Ron looked up at her, suddenly confused.

"It's... not?" she choked out, but as Ron opened his mouth to ask why tears were forming in her eyes, she held up a hand. "Don't!" she shouted frantically. "I don't want..." but she seemed unable to continue.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, stepping forward towards her despite her protests.

"Nothing! Nothing!" she said shrilly, her voice unnaturally high. And she continued to back away from him another few steps. "It's okay... a mistake... I should have known. That was... silly of me," she said quickly in that same strange false sounding voice.

"What?" Ron asked, his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait a second, I-"

But she shook her head furiously.

"Stop!" she shouted. "Just stop. I'm going back inside. Don't follow me," and she turned, holding her head up as high as she could, and she began to practically run back towards the house. Ron stood stunned for a moment. Was she not yet ready to hear that he loved her? Had she really figured out what he was about to say? But why had she been so upset even if she had figured it out? She had said in Ginny's room that she felt so strongly for him that it hurt... didn't that mean... that maybe she loved him too? So why was she crying now if she sensed... and then suddenly it hit him. And for the second time in twenty-four hours, Ron felt like a complete arse.

"Hermione!" he shouted as he sprinted towards her. "Hold on a second, will you?"

She stopped and turned on her heel to face him, her face tracked with thick tears and her eyes very red. Ron's eyes softened and he felt like banging his head against something.

"It wasn't true that I _fancy _you..." he began quickly, ready to clear this up, but Hermione cut in, pleading with him as he was speaking.

"Please, just don't..."

But Ron plowed on, knowing that in a few seconds, she'd understand what he had really meant...

"Because I'm actually in _love _with you."

Hermione blinked, her eyes wider than ever.

"Wh-what..." she choked out for the second time.

Ron sighed.

"Did you think I regretted last night? I bloody _love _you, Hermione. I'll never regret a thing."

"Ron," she breathed, regaining her composure, wiping the tears from her face. When her eyes met his again, they flashed for a moment and Ron looked sheepishly back at her. "Ron, you complete arse!" she shouted, wiping more falling tears from her eyes and cheeks.

"Yeah," he agreed, running a hand through his hair, realizing that Hermione had just voiced exactly what he'd thought of himself moments before. "I deserve that."

"What were you thinking?!" Hermione cried.

"I'm so sorry... that was... a really mental thing to start off with, saying that I didn't mean what I said last night..."

Hermione nodded, blinked, and wiped her eyes once more.

"Honestly," Hermione mumbled through a shaky sigh. But her lips turned up slightly as she glanced back up at Ron. "Do you mean it?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Ron nodded.

"Always," he said, and the hint of a smile that had been playing on Hermione's lips broke into a full grin.

"If you ever scare me like that again, I'll hex you," she said through a laugh.

"Okay," Ron said, smiling now too. "Please do."

"Now I have something to say to you, Ronald," Hermione said as she stepped closer to him. Ron grinned at her use of his full name.

"Go on," he urged as he took a step towards her too.

"I don't fancy you either."

"No?" Ron asked, widening his eyes comically and staring down at Hermione, trying his best to look hurt.

"No. Not at all," she said as she put her hands on her hips and glared up at him, trying to hide the smile that was creeping back onto her face.

"Well, this is just devastating," Ron said, looking away from her and shaking his head. "How will I go on?"

Hermione giggled and Ron felt his heartbeat suddenly triple as he sensed what she was about to say... She was really going to say it back!

"I'm in love with you too, Ron. I have been for... years..."

Ron found it incredibly difficult to swallow all of a sudden and he knew that he was grinning like a fool, but he couldn't stop.

"Blimey," he managed to say as he put his hands on Hermione's arms. "I... _years_..." But he was once again lost for words. They both began to laugh, and before he knew it, their lips had met and he was holding the back of her head with one hand, his other arm wrapped around her thin waist. In a moment of complete elation, Ron spun on the spot, lifting Hermione off the ground, their lips still joined. Hermione broke away laughing and leaned into him, nearly toppling them both to the ground. But then Ron was pulling her down playfully and they fell softly onto the warm summer grass.

He kissed her again, his body covering hers. When he broke away again, he smiled down at her and she ran her hand along the back of his neck causing goosebumps to spring up instantly.

But then suddenly Ron realized where they were and he looked up from Hermione, his grin still plastered into place. They were in the middle of the yard where anyone could see them from almost anywhere inside the Burrow. He glanced around the yard and Hermione furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, puzzled.

"A place to go where no one can see us," Ron admitted. "Ah!" he said suddenly, and he took Hermione's hand and stood, pulling her up gently. He began to lead them towards the shed and she followed him happily. When they reached the door, Ron glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone had seen them approaching, then opened the door for her, stepped in after her, and closed the door behind them. They stood just inside the large, cluttered, dusty old shed for a moment, both looking around.

"Nice romantic place," Hermione said sarcastically, but she smiled up at Ron. He rolled his eyes jokingly.

"I'd like to see you do better," he said, then immediately wished he hadn't. Hermione wasn't one to step down from a challenge.

"Oh, would you?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips again. Ron shrugged as Hermione stepped over a pile of old junk and found a relatively clear space on the floor. She removed her wand from her jeans and with a few quick swishes, the floor was nearly spotless. Then she aimed her wand at an old wooden stool and with a single flick, it turned into a very comfortable looking pillow. She turned back to face Ron, smiling proudly at her work.

"Okay, fine," Ron said as he approached her. "How about this?" He removed his own wand from his pocket and with a mumbled "Engorgio", the pillow enlarged to the size of a small mattress. Next, he aimed his wand at two more stools and turned them into smaller pillows, slightly lumpier than Hermione's, but still, he was rather pleased with the result.

Hermione watched approvingly as he dropped the two pillows onto the mattress with a flourish.

"There," he said with a smirk.

"Well, this is certainly more like it," Hermione said as she plopped down onto the rather thick and comfortable bed-sized pillow.

"Glad you like it," Ron said as he sat next to her.

"Though, to be fair, it was my idea."

"Ah, yes, that's true," Ron agreed as he leaned towards Hermione. He licked his lips absentmindedly, but Hermione clearly caught it. Her eyes moved to his lips and stayed there as Ron leaned closer, closer... agonizingly closer.

"Come here," Hermione said, and she pulled him against her, both of them falling back onto the smaller pillows.

When they broke away again, Ron pulled his hand out from behind Hermione's head, looking at something between his fingers.

"You had some grass in your hair," he said with a lopsided smile.

"Oh," Hermione whispered. "Thank you."

"No problem," Ron whispered back. He leaned down and kissed her gently, and when he pulled back, she grinned at him, her arms around his neck.

"Let's never leave this place, okay?" she said softly. Ron nodded, smiling back at her.

"Good idea," and he kissed her again.


	5. Everything We Haven't Done, Part 1

**Chapter 5 - Everything We Haven't Done, Part 1  
**  
Half an hour later, Ron and Hermione separated, breathing heavily, their faces flushed from kissing. Ron lowered his head to the pillow next to Hermione and blew her hair out of her face. She giggled as his breath tickled her, then reached for his hand where it lay between them, aching to be held.

"Hermione," Ron breathed, looking very satisfied and warm. "I should probably tell you something..."

"What?" Hermione asked, scooting closer to him on the pillow.

"Well..." Ron began, looking guilty. "I sort of... overheard you and Ginny talking in Ginny's room this morning."

Hermione stared back at him, blinking. Her eyes widened.

"What do you mean? What did you hear?" She sat up a bit to stare down at Ron.

"Well..." Ron said again. "I was coming out of the shower and I heard... I heard you saying something that seemed to be about me... and I was curious."

Hermione's eyes widened further.

"I know I shouldn't have, but I stuck around and listened because... I just couldn't walk away. It was like I was glued there."

Hermione's lips parted slightly from shock.

"And I just... I wanted to know... after I heard a bit of what you were saying, I needed to know what you meant by it, see..."

Ron looked away from Hermione, his face red and his eyes darting about nervously.

"Ginny said you'd lied to me and I needed to know what about... I thought... I was worried for a second that you didn't really want to be with me. Then..."

But Hermione gasped.

"You... you were there for the whole thing!" she exclaimed, looking mortified. "When I left the room you were standing outside and I thought you had just come out of the loo! I was terrified you'd heard something but... but I just let it go because your hair was wet and you were in front of the bathroom door..."

"Yeah, I had just taken a shower," Ron said, flashing Hermione a guilty half-smile, but she shook her head.

"Why would you do that? Why did you think that was okay?!" Hermione sat all the way up now and pressed her hands to the cushion, preparing to stand, but Ron reached out to stop her.

"Hermione, hold on a second, please?"

"You shouldn't have listened to us!" Hermione shouted, pulling out of his grasp and standing now. But Ron jumped to his feet next to her.

"Hermione! Yeah, I know I shouldn't have listened! And I'm really sorry that I did... in a way." He paused and Hermione glared at him. "But I can't be entirely sorry because the reason why I even had the guts to tell you that I love you is because I had already overheard you telling Ginny that you..." he scuffed his foot on the shed floor... "_love me_!"

"But that's not fair!" Hermione shouted, her cheeks flushed now. "What if you hadn't felt the same way and you'd heard me? You could have ruined everything! I wanted to wait and tell you on my own time..."

"...so you could lure me in and make me love you gradually?"

Hermione blushed deep crimson and avoided his eyes.

"Hermione, that's totally mental! I don't need convincing, I don't need extra time, and I certainly don't need you to be cautious around me to make sure things work out the way you want them to."

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, but her eyes were wet...

"You really are an arse..." she said almost inaudibly.

"Yeah, I know I am," Ron admitted as he scratched his neck. "But please, please don't be angry with me."

"You don't understand," Hermione said with an exasperated sigh, her cheeks turning even more red as she continued... "And I can't explain it to you. But all I know is that yesterday morning I was terrified to tell you that I fancied you, and now you've told me that you _love _me... and I just don't know what it all means... _how much_ it means..."

She looked confused, flustered, and like she'd rather be anywhere else but in this shed with Ron at the moment.

"Hermione," Ron sighed, searching for the right words, sure that he didn't know them. But then it occurred to him... he swallowed the lump in his throat. Things were moving so fast between them, but it felt so right, like it all just made sense. He had a feeling that they were on the same page, but this was his chance to explain to her just how serious he was, just how much it all meant to him, because he could tell her he loved her all day long, but it was about showing her that, wasn't it? And especially now when she felt that he had betrayed her trust by listening in on her private conversation, something that, without directly lying to her, he'd never completely be able to regret...

So he took a breath, looked down at her, and nodded to himself...

"I'll never regret how much of an arse I was today. I just can't do that. You want to know why?"

Hermione finally looked up at him, her angry, tear filled eyes meeting his. But she nodded very slightly and he nodded back.

"This is how I feel, this is all I know how to say..."

He shifted from foot to foot and shoved his hands into his pockets...

"If you want this to be serious... with me... with _us_... well, you should know that I do too. So you don't have to worry about _that_..."

Hermione blinked at him, taking in what he had just admitted. It was just so utterly mature and sincere. She had never heard him say anything like it before. Her lips parted involuntarily from her shock as she continued to blink up at him.

"Say something," Ron pleaded, looking nervous, his eyes on hers.

"If you're saying what I think you are-" Hermione started, but Ron nodded.

"I am," he said.

"Okay." Hermione stared up at him, still shocked. Finally, her eyes had filled with too many tears not to spill over. "Damn it, Ron, I can't even stay angry with you about being untrustworthy!"

"I'm not untrustworthy!" Ron countered, his lips curling slightly as Hermione stepped closer to him. "I just told you everything I overheard! And it's been less than two hours!"

"You stupid prat," Hermione said, but before Ron could respond, she had leaned into him so tightly that his back pressed against the inside of the shed door. She kissed him deeply, and his expression of surprise remained firmly planted on his face for the first few seconds of the kiss before he completely gave in and moved his hands up and down her back as his lips danced with hers.

When they finally pulled apart, Hermione locked eyes with him, looking more serious than she had in quite a while...

"You really want to be with me, you don't care about any other girls, you won't ever think about what it would be like to be with someone else, someone prettier-"

But Ron stopped her there.

"Hermione, there is no one else in the world who even comes close in my mind. You never have to even think for a second ever again that I'm having second thoughts or that my heart doesn't completely belong to you..."

"Is this a dream?" Hermione whispered.

"Blimey, I sure hope not..." Ron whispered back.

"You have my whole heart too, Ron Weasley. Don't ever forget it."

"I won't," he choked as he kissed her again.


	6. Everything We Haven't Done, Part 2

**Chapter 6 - Everything We Haven't Done, Part 2**

A muffled voice was calling his name. But he didn't want to hear it. He was doing his best to shut it out, his eyes closing even tighter.

But he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold onto this moment much longer. Hermione was, after all, a lot more sensible than he was...

She pulled her lips away from his and he felt his mood drop instantly...

"Your mum," Hermione mumbled, her warm breath against his lips.

"Yeah," Ron grumbled as he opened his eyes, and Hermione grinned at him.

"We'd better go," Hermione added, stifling a giggle. Ron knew she was right, but gave her a pout anyway. She covered her mouth as she laughed.

"Fine," Ron said, turning and opening the door a crack to peer out. When he didn't see his mother on the porch as he had expected, he looked back in at Hermione and nodded. "All clear. Let's go."

Hermione was still trying not to laugh, which just made Ron smirk.

"Pull yourself together," he said through his grin.

"Your fault," Hermione replied, crossing her arms over her chest which only made Ron grin wider. She followed him out the shed door and he cautiously closed it behind him.

They made their way across the yard, walking very close together but not touching. Ron even put his hands in his pockets when he felt Hermione's hand brush against his wrist. It was too hard _not _to hold her hand when it was so close to his... and when he was even allowed to do it! But they hadn't told anyone about their new relationship, and for now, Ron thought it best to keep quiet, at least until he could talk it over with Hermione and decide what they should do...

When they reached the door, Ron opened it for her and she opened her mouth to thank him but was cut off by Ron's father who had moved quickly into the hall when he heard the door opening.

"Ron, Hermione," he began, his face a bit too solemn for Ron's liking. "We need to talk to you about Harry."

"What's happened?" Ron asked quickly, his pulse quickening as he noticed Hermione tensing up beside him.

"Nothing, nothing, come inside," and Mr. Weasley ushered them into the kitchen where they were surprised to find members of the Order, Aurors, and Ron's whole family gathered at the table.

"Ron, Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said, bustling over to them as they stepped up to the table. "Arthur," she added, turning towards her husband.

"We're going," said Mad Eye who sat at the far end of the table, "tonight, to bring Harry here, and we need your help."

Hermione and Ron's eyes widened.

"What can we do?" Hermione asked.

And for the next hour, the plan was explained in detail to everyone around the table. After, they ate in silence, then Ron and Hermione excused themselves to get their coats. On the walk up to Ginny's room, Hermione took Ron's hand.

"Ron," she said quietly. "Promise me you'll be careful..."

He nodded.

"You'll be there too," he said.

"But they're separating us when you leave with Tonks," Hermione added, her voice cracking just enough for Ron to notice.

They had reached Ginny's room, and Hermione stopped before going inside to turn and face Ron.

"It's going to be fine," Ron said reassuringly. "They've got a good plan."

"I just don't like not knowing where you are..." Hermione admitted.

"Yeah, I know," Ron said, giving her a half smile. "I'll probably be a lot more worried when we're actually there about to leave each other, but as long as we stick with the plan..." Ron seemed more nervous than he really wanted Hermione to pick up on, but she nodded and squeezed his hand. "Now you've got to promise you'll be careful too," Ron requested.

"I will," she smiled.

"Good." He leaned down and kissed her. "Gotta get my coat," he said as he separated from her and, with a glance back, he headed up the stairs two at a time towards his room. Hermione had the impression that he wanted to make it back down so fast that she wouldn't have time to even leave Ginny's room before he returned. The thought made her smile as she retrieved her own coat from the foot of her camp bed. And as she crossed the room towards the door again, Ron appeared in the doorway and grinned.

"Made it," he said, slightly out of breath, pulling her into a hug in one quick motion. She dropped her coat and squeezed him back, her eyes beginning to water. She tried to tell herself she was being ridiculous, but feeling his warmth as he held her, imagining how cold it would be on her way back to the Burrow without him... And she couldn't stop herself from imagining those things, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how many times she repeated in her head that it would be fine, that everything would be fine...

"Better go," she finally said, pulling away from him. He bent down immediately to pick up her coat and she felt her cheeks flush.

"Thanks," she said in a small voice.

"Any time," Ron whispered. He kissed her quickly before heading out the door. She followed closely behind him and took hold of his hand as they started down the stairs. On the last landing, she squeezed his hand tightly and he squeezed back before letting go.

"Ready?" asked Bill as they entered the kitchen. Everyone was waiting for them and they both nodded as they were ushered into the group and away from the Burrow...

* * *

Hermione was freezing. It was a summer night. It should not be this cold. But her arms were wrapped tightly around her body and she was staring up into the sky expectantly.

She had told herself not to panic, that he was fine. She had promised not to cry in front of Harry and Ginny... but right now, she was doing a fairly poor job of keeping that promise. Her eyes were blurred by tears and she had to wipe at them every few moments to avoid them spilling down her face and being seen by Ginny and Harry where they stood next Hermione, their eyes towards the sky as well.

Hermione found her thoughts betraying her as she stood staring up into the night. As much as she wanted to be strong, she felt herself losing control... it was as if all the regrets and missed moments of her life had piled up inside her and all she could do was review them endlessly, feeling hopeless and overwhelmed by all that it meant...

"No," she whispered to herself as she shook her head, trying to push those thoughts away as they came. She caught Ginny glancing sideways at her and did not turn to look at Ginny, hoping that she would turn back away, that she wouldn't see Hermione's tears...

"He'll be alright," Ginny whispered, her voice carrying softly on the night breeze, only to be heard by Hermione. And though Hermione hadn't wanted Ginny's comfort - hadn't wanted to be bothered or to have to even think about anything but standing here in this spot and watching the still, quiet sky - the moment Ginny spoke, even though her voice quavered with uncertainty, Hermione felt a bit of her worry edge away.

But minutes passed, and she could not stand to be here any longer, but there was also no way she would ever be able to move. She needed something to happen. She felt that if something didn't happen soon, she would die here just staring up into the sky, waiting...

And then, out of nowhere... It was almost as if her brain could not comprehend the change, that something was finally happening after what felt like years of waiting...

"It's them!" Hermione screamed, her eyes wide. Two brooms landed in the yard with a thud. Tonks ran for Lupin and then Ron was was heading towards them. Hermione could hardly believe he was there.

"You're okay," Ron mumbled as Hermione flung her arms around him.

"I thought... I thought..." Hermione started, trying not to let anyone see the tears that she was blinking furiously back.

"M' alright," said Ron as he patted Hermione's back. He wanted to kiss her, but then Tonks was talking, explaining to everyone what he had done during the fight...

* * *

Ron was standing by the stairs yawning. He glanced around the room, and, not finding Hermione anywhere, pulled Ginny aside as she walked past.

"Where's-" but Ginny cut him off, already knowing what he was about to ask before he asked it.

"She went upstairs a few minutes ago, kind of sneaked away."

Ron nodded and turned to head up without another word. He wondered if Hermione was in his room or Ginny's. His question was answered the moment he stepped onto the second landing. He heard a muffled sniff and a sob coming from beyond Ginny's partially closed bedroom door. He pushed the door open quietly and stared in at Hermione where she was lying on her camp bed on her side, her back towards the door. Light fell over her in a streak from the lantern in the hallway outside the now open door.

"Hey," Ron whispered as he walked over to the bed. He sat softly on the edge and noticed that Hermione had gone still and silent. He put his hand gently on her back and let his fingers run up her spine. She turned towards him after a brief moment, wiping her eyes and cheeks clean as she did so, and Ron wondered why she seemed intent on hiding her tears from him.

"You really scared me," she said with a forced chuckle.

"Sorry," Ron whispered. For some reason, he didn't want to raise his voice any further. It was odd, but it felt natural not to speak in a normal voice just now, though he didn't know why. "Was worried about you too," he added in that same quiet voice.

Hermione nodded and smiled weakly at him. Ron reached up to her cheek and ran a slightly trembling finger across a tear track. Her eyes fluttered shut automatically.

"Tired?" Ron whispered, and she nodded. "Me too."

He paused and just watched her breathing for moment before he spoke again.

"Everything's going to be bloody hard now isn't it," Ron said softly, almost to himself. "Now that Harry's here..."

"It's not his fault," Hermione said as she opened her eyes again.

"I know that," Ron replied, "but... don't get me wrong, I'm sodding thrilled that we're... together now..." he blushed slightly and Hermione smiled, "but now Harry's here and I don't know what to do, whether we should tell him or not... Oh, and then there's the fact that there's a bloody war going on all around us and we're pretty much as involved as you can get."

Hermione nodded, watching him as his eyes turned down to his hand where it was playing with a bit of the blanket near Hermione's right side.

"And, damn, I was really worried tonight. And you were too..." She nodded again and looked slightly away from him when his eyes returned to her face. "And this is just going to keep happening over and over again... who knows when it'll stop really... could be years."

Hermione blinked back another wave of tears, a bit upset with herself for being so emotional recently...

"Ron," she finally began, sniffing, "you know what I was thinking when I was waiting for you and Tonks to arrive?"

Ron shook his head slightly, urging her to go on.

"I was thinking about all the things I'd regret. I've never been so scared... except for last year when you were poisoned..."

Ron allowed his fingers to wander over a few inches to Hermione's hand and he gently covered it with his own.

"And after you were poisoned, when you were lying in the hospital wing, and even before that, when I wasn't sure if you were going to make it, I kept screaming inside my head, angry with myself for the things I never did, never told you. We had years together and I never bothered to tell you how I felt. And if you had died, I'd never get to tell you. Ever. I'd never get to... to kiss you, or... or to know if you felt anything for me in return... it was terrible."

"But now... well, we've kind of sorted all that out, haven't we?" Ron asked with a lopsided grin.

"But tonight," Hermione went on, "I had a whole new set of things that I'd just... I wanted to not feel that way, but there are just so many things we'd never have the chance to do..." She trailed off, blushing furiously and Ron furrowed his eyebrows.

"Like what?" he asked, curiously.

Hermione shrugged.

"Doesn't matter I guess," she mumbled.

A few things suddenly crossed Ron's mind and he blushed too, wondering if they were on the same page...

"Well..." he said softly. He cleared his throat. "We should make a list then."

"A list?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. You write down all the things you want to do, things you'd regret if... you know... and then we'll just go down the list and do them all," Ron finished, grinning. Hermione laughed.

"Brilliant," she said as she adjusted her head on her pillow to get more comfortable. "Do you have a list in mind too?" she asked.

"Well, the first thing," Ron started, "would probably go something like this," and he slid into the bed on his stomach, part of his right side on top of Hermione's, his face pressed into the pillow just to Hermione's right, so close that she could feel each breath he let out against her cheek. She laughed, closing her eyes.

"But Ron, we've done this before. Twice."

"Maybe my list says we've got to do this four thousand times," Ron said, his grin still solidly in place.

"Only four thousand?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows and turning into him so they were lying face to face. Ron moved slightly onto his side so he could see her better.

"How about four million?"

"Better," Hermione said in a tone that indicated that she'd prefer an even larger number.

He smiled at her and they stayed there silently staring at each other for a long moment.

"You'll really stay... for a while?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Course," Ron answered automatically. His arm moved around her waist and tightened so she was as close as she could get, their foreheads together on the pillow.

But just then, Ginny entered the room. Hermione moved back from Ron just enough to glance over him towards the door where Ginny was standing.

"Harry's gone to bed," Ginny said quietly.

"Ginny-" Hermione and Ron started at the same moment, but Ginny waved them off.

"It's okay. I understand. We were really worried about you, Ron," Ginny said. "Stay if you like." And she crossed her room to her bed, picked up her pyjamas, and exited the room again, crossing the landing to the bathroom.

"I heard her right, didn't I?" Ron asked in an awed sort of voice.

"I believe so, yeah," Hermione added, smiling.

"Well, that's just brilliant!" he exclaimed, smiling wide. "I should change." He jumped out of the bed suddenly. "Be right back."

He bolted out the door, and Hermione heard him bounding up the stairs. She wondered silently what he'd say to Harry if questioned about where he was headed in his pyjamas, but she was much too happy that he was staying in her bed for the night to really care in the slightest.

She jumped out of bed and locked Ginny's door, then changed quickly into her own pyjamas. When she opened the door again, she heard thunderous footsteps just outside as Ron ran down them, jumping the last few.

He appeared in the doorway grinning. Hermione took his hand, giggling slightly, and pulled him back to the bed where they toppled down and scooted close, sliding under the blanket and sheet and getting comfortable on their sides facing one another.

"What did you tell Harry?" Hermione asked, extremely curious.

"He was nearly asleep in his bed already. He sort of grunted at me and I said goodnight. That was about it."

"Worked out rather well I guess," Hermione said and Ron nodded. "Hope he's alright," she added.

"He'll be okay."

Hermione smiled and adjusted her head on the pillow. Ron reached for both of her hands and took them in both of his. He placed her hands on the sides of his face, then placed his own hands on the sides of her face and leaned in to kiss her. She pulled his head closer, and when their lips parted, their noses remained together. Hermione smiled and opened her eyes to find Ron's blues eyes so close that they almost merged into one eye.

"Mum used to call this owl eyes," Hermione said, still smiling.

"What?" Ron asked, looking slightly confused. "Being this close to each other?"

"Yeah, when your noses are touching. See how big and round my eyes are and how close together they look?"

"Yeah."

"Close your eyes," Hermione instructed. She waited for a moment... "Okay, open," she said, and the moment Ron's eyes had opened all the way, "hoo!" she said.

Ron grinned.

"What's that? An owl sound?"

"Of course," Hermione answered.

"That's probably the cutest thing I've ever heard of," he said, chuckling. Hermione's cheeks turned slightly pink, though Ron couldn't tell with his face still so close.

"I was probably six the last time I did that," Hermione said.

"Bet you were the cutest six year old ever then," Ron added.

"Oh no, don't you remember how awful my hair was?" Hermione asked disgustedly. "When I was eleven, it was about the same as when I was six. Imagine a six year old with hair that big. It was nearly a quarter of my body mass."

Ron laughed.

"It's still about an eighth I'd say," he joked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and moved back so she could look at Ron properly.

"Exactly my point."

"Mine too," Ron added and Hermione gave him a confused eyebrow raise. "It's sort of... well, amazing," Ron added for clarification.

Hermione scoffed at him.

"Oh, like you didn't know that..." Ron said, though his tone was slightly unsure.

"Right. And I guess you enjoy my study habits too then."

"Maybe," Ron said, giving her a cryptic shrug.

"Yeah..." Hermione replied sarcastically, chuckling.

Ron twirled a bit of Hermione's hair in his fingers.

"Let me have a piece to put in my pocket," he said.

"Why?" Hermione asked. "So you can make a Polyjuice potion?"

Ron raised his eyebrows, then blushed.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Never thought about that before... kind of... well, the weirdest thing ever?"

"Turning into me?" Hermione asked, smiling.

"Yeah. Blows my mind a bit..."

"Yeah, me too actually," Hermione admitted, imaging what it would be like to literally have Ron's body for an hour. She shivered slightly.

"Maybe we need to add that to the list," Ron suggested jokingly.

Hermione laughed, but quieted down as Ginny entered the room again wearing her pyjamas.

"Goodnight," Ginny said softly as she climbed into her bed.

"Night," Ron and Hermione said at nearly the exact same time.

Ron moved slightly onto his back and Hermione settled against his side, her leg overlapping his and her hand resting on his chest. She buried her face in his neck and he tilted his head down so her hair was in his face. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped both of his arms tightly around her. He squeezed her against his side.

"Goodnight," he whispered into her hair. She replied, but her voice was so muffled against his shoulder that he could only assume she had said 'goodnight' back. Ron didn't want to fall asleep yet. He was enjoying being so close to her. It wasn't like he'd had much experience with this before. But before he even realized it, he had fallen into a deep and relatively peaceful slumber, his arms still clutching her tightly in his dreams.


End file.
